NTSB Faults Pilots In Continental Connection Flight 3407 Crash | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.16.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.17.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Wed, Feb 03, 2010

NTSB Faults Pilots In Continental Connection Flight 3407 Crash

Pilots "Did Not Take Action" That Could Have Prevented The Accident

The NTSB has determined that the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 owned by Colgan Air, was the fault of the pilots not taking appropriate corrective action when the accident sequence began. The board held a final meeting on the crash Tuesday in Washington, DC.

Investigators said Captain Martin Renslow pulled back on the aircraft's control yoke rather than pushing forward, which led to a deeper stall that recovering from it. It also found that First Officer Rebecca Shaw did not follow cockpit procedures, such as calling out the stall or pushing forceabley on the controls, which investigators said she had time to do.

In fact, the board found that both pilots had time to take corrective action that would have prevented the crash. The board staff indicated 27 seconds elapsed between the first warning from the stick shaker to the time the flight data recorder record ended.

CNN reports that the board said there was an almost casual tone between the two pilots in the cockpit. Board member Robert Sumwalt said "It was as if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officer."  Another investigator,  Dr. Evan Byrne said "The crew did not perform in a way consistent with the training they received."

But while the board is focused on the pilots, it is also looking at a wide variety of other factors that may have contributed to the crash, including training, sleep patterns, and commuting time. Renslow lived in Florida, while Shaw traveled to work from the west coast. While there was known icing in the area at the time of the accident, the board said ice was not a factor.

Colgan Air had previously submitted a 67-page document that placed the blame directly on the two pilots of the aircraft. The board is expected to release a probable cause report quickly.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.15.25): Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach

Charted Visual Flight Procedure Approach An approach conducted while operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan which authorizes the pilot of an aircraft to proceed >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.15.25)

“When l became the Secretary of Defense, I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.15.25)

Aero Linx: Stearman Restorers Association Welcome to the Stearman Restorers Association. The Stearman Restorers Association is an independent “Not for Profit” 501C-3 Co>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Kjelsrud Gary Kitfox

Airplane Exhibited A Partial Loss Of Engine Power When It Was About Halfway Down The Runway Analysis: The pilot of the experimental amateur-built airplane was departing from his pr>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Cessna A150L

The Flight Path Was Consistent With Low-Altitude Maneuvering On June 18, 2025, about 0922 mountain standard time, a Cessna A150L airplane, N6436F, was substantially damaged when it>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC